How to Tell if a Chicken is Still Laying

How do you know if your chicken is still laying eggs? Here’s how to tell if a chicken is still laying or is a liar, and what to do with them.

With the price of feed and time spent on cleaning coops and such, it’s really important for us to know what hens are still laying eggs. We always have to check and ask ourselves, “Is this chicken still laying eggs, or are they just eating food?”.

I *could* go outside, watch for each one to enter the nesting box, wait for her to deposit her egg, then mark her in a way that I would know she was still laying. But, since I don’t have that kind of time on my hands, there is an easier way to do it. This is the method we learned in our 4H poultry club and has worked for us time and again.

Check her vent.

Here’s how. Gently hold your chicken and flip her over so you can see her vent. This is her “butt” or where the eggs come out of. You are looking for a moist looking vent. A dry one signals that her laying life isn’t happening.

Next, feel for her keel bone.

This is the bottom of the breastbone. Then, place your fingers from the keel bone toward the vent. 1-2 fingers mean that she is still laying. 3-4 means that she isn’t laying so well anymore.
Feel her abdomen.

If it’s nice and soft, you have a layer. Hard and firm, a liar.

Finally, check her comb and leg color.

A chicken will “lose” her color from the top down and gain it back in the same order. When she is in full egg production, her comb will begin to lose it’s deep color, on down. If her legs are a bright yellow, her laying life is pretty much over.

With all these signs, the top pictures of each group are from an obvious liar, and the bottom a layer. You have to decide if the liar is worth keeping around. In our cases, personally, they are not and we cull them from the flock. Here’s how to do that for yourself. Keeping lots of “liars” around means that you are providing feed and water, but not getting anything out of it for yourself.

Thx for sharing on Homesteaders Hop. I find that just looking at the comb is enough to tell if she’s laying. Also, I disagree with what you say about the leg color. Yellow legs tend to fade as the hen ages. Faded legs indicates advancing age, not how well she is laying per se. Older ones tend to lay few eggs, but there are many exceptions. If I were to get into raising them for meat, I would cull as you do, though I don’t really find it a problem to let them live out their retirement. Natural attrition ensures that we never have an all old lady flock, and I think the younger ones learn from the old hens, who are very aware of the neighborhood pets and predators, which are dangerous and which are not.

Thanks for your input! Unfortunately, we aren’t able to afford to allow them to live to their old age 😉 We don’t have a lot of free range room, and feed is around $35 a bag in my area currently. I wish we could, though, for the same reasons that you mentioned.

We are looking into fodder for our ladies, we’ve never culled, and never will. We feed our flock (add new chicks to) so we aren’t left with a non productive flock. We treat our’s like pets and always will. Fodder is SO much cheaper…. so money will not be a reason or issue.

I’m with you. I have never “culled” a flock. I’ve raised my girls and they have given me food for my table plus endless entertainment and affection. I will not darken it by killing my friends. They deserve a peaceful full life and I let them have it.

Wonderful info! I have had ckickens for 25 years. You taught me something! I always wondered who was not laying and pretty much relied in age. I know I fed them MUCH longer than needed before going in the soup pot! I am going to save same money thanks to you. 🙂

I was just introduced to your blog from another site I visit and I am really enjoying it so far. Let me just say that a lot of people, myself included, have a hard time letting go of their hens. My chickens are also pets (they are hand reared, tamed in the house before introduced to the rest of the flock. We decided that we would rather have birds we can handle in case of emergency and so far it works well). Unfortunately, as the original flock started to become matriarchal, my husband and I had to have the talk. Who do we bury, who do we throw in the crock pot. So, we agreed on a “pardon list”. On it, my rooster and two of my favorite hens. I will definitely use these tips. Thank you.

I don’t care if my chickens are laying. To us they are pets. And sure they lay eggs, but I would never cull one for the sake of her not laying. The only way I would cull one would be if I absolutely had to. But even that I would have a really hard time doing.

Thank you for the information. I have only a couple ladies and don’t like the mess of culling but will in time. These two are getting on and I will need to replace them in the next year or two. Your post will let me know when is good.

Some very good things here! However, I would like to correct on one thing. A bright, deep colored comb does not signify a lack of laying…quite the contrary. A bright comb and wattle actually signify a good healthy bird, but has nothing to do with laying, except a good healthy bird will probably lay better than a sick one. The dull color would concern me. The feet and beak DO signify how well a chicken is laying, though. The yolk get it’s color from the chicken’s pigment, so if they have pale legs and beaks it’s a pretty good indicator they are indeed are laying.

Great post! I have never seen this method before and have had chickens for many years and frequent online discussion forums as well. I suppose this would work to see if pullets have started to lay also, right? I’m heading out now to do an inventory of layers vs. liars. I have 87 chickens of which 4 are roosters so I’ll be out there awhile.

I am totally confused you say 2fingers from the keel bone to the vent, chicken is laying. and four fingers they are not laying and yet others say the other way around four for laying and two for not laying so how do I sort this out which of you is right.

I just wish the information on the www was reliable. My problem is I have two different aged chickens, Four I bred myself and 6, I purchased. they are Dark brown Leghorns. unfortunately it took too long to get the leg bands to be able to identify the older and younger chickens. So now I have to try and sort them out. I am still waiting for the leg bands. but I really need to know how to sort the different age chickens. I think my four younger hens are laying as I am getting four eggs each day. the other chickens seem to be having a bludge. Also I have just set some more eggs. so hopefully I will be able to identify my chickens once the leg bands come. I am thinking of checking the vents on my chickens and any with dry vents are for the chop. as I can not afford to have non-productive chickens.

Only problem is I find it very hard to dispose of them. I do not like to kill anything. Maybe I will be able to give them away. but who wants a non -productive chook? I am an old softie.

I really do not want to dispose of the wrong chickens. I spoil my chickens rotten. so they are all in very good condition and its very hard to tell the young from the old. even their combs and wattles are identical. Legs are very much the same so no luck there. I can tell the aged of the roosters as the spurs are different lengths, however the hens are very similar. as I said all my chickens are in very good condition. so even the feathers are very similar. it is very difficult to tell the difference. I have been reading up on how to tell. and there seems to be as many theories as there are different breeds of chickens.

Do older chickens take longer to lay eggs after molting because my chickens have just finished molting. and I really do not wish to dispose of potentially productive chickens. So please someone out there give me some rock solid advice on ageing chickens. thanks heaps Harry.

Chickens can continue to lay until they are 3-5 years old…some longer, depending on the breed. I have hear of hens 7 years old still laying, although not as much. That’s not the norm, but it CAN happen.
The information I shared is what we learned in 4H from our club and the state poultry board, and what we have always gone by.

For our girls, we use them as stewing hens after 3 years regardless. I can imagine how hard it is to eat a pet, too. Perhaps you could just keep them in their old age? Some people do keep hens, even after they no longer lay. Good luck with your flock!

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